


Don't You Forget

by retribution



Category: Free!
Genre: Alternate Universe, Fairy Tale Elements, Friendship/Love, Gen, M/M, Mythical Beings & Creatures, Unrequited Crush, implied yamazaki sousuke/ryuugazaki rei
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-28
Updated: 2015-09-28
Packaged: 2018-04-23 19:11:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,366
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4888696
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/retribution/pseuds/retribution
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>How Rin saved a butterfly from the rain, how it changed his life forever.  How he promised he wouldn't forget, how that was the only promise he ever broke.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Turning around for the third time, Rin walked back once again to the entrance of the campus apartment building where he lived his third year of university.  There on the ground under a bush lay a large butterfly, barely protected from the pouring rain outside, surely half-drowned by now.  But he could see the sodden purple wings twitch every now and then, so he knew it was still alive, and that he could not just abandon it to die like that.  Sighing, Rin pulled out a folder from his backpack and as gently as possible, moved the insect onto the surface in order to take it inside to dry.

At least, he thought it was an insect.  To his shock, Rin discovered the butterfly he had put on a folded up t-shirt was actually a very small winged man.  Rubbing at his eyes, he wondered if those sleepless nights spent studying for exams last week had finally taken its toll on his sanity, but when he peered at it again, the butterfly man was still a butterfly man, now sleeping soundly on his t-shirt.  A fairy, Rin thought in awe, like the ones in the books Lori and Russell had on their shelves, with butterfly wings and pointy ears.  And judging by the circlet of gold resting in the wet blue locks, this particular one must be a fairy prince.  Stunned by the revelation, Rin wracked his tired brain for what to do, the proper protocol for dealing with a half-drowned supernatural part butterfly part human member of royalty, and then the fairy prince made a tiny, high-pitched sneezing sound. 

It must be freezing.  Rin searched through his drawers for a handkerchief and found a clean one to lay over the butterfly man, but its shivering did not stop.  Biting his lip, Rin nudged the handkerchief aside and gently pulled the tiny boots off the fairy’s feet, which dumped a miniature puddle of water on his desk.  He dried the butterfly man as best as he could, patting the fabric over its crumpled wings and back, hoping the shivering would ease soon, and for the better.  What would happen if the fairies discovered he could not save their prince, Rin wondered, and vaguely terrifying childhood memories of Lori’s fairytale book surfaced, much to his distress.

 

 

He had been looking up fairytale lore on his laptop for about forty minutes when the fairy finally stirred from under the handkerchief.  It stretched, yawning adorably and blinking wearily through its miniature pair of glasses as it looked around Rin’s bedroom.  Upon noticing Rin staring at it hopefully, and immediately after that its own nakedness, it sat up suddenly and began scolding Rin in extremely high-pitched bell-like tinkling sounds while clutching the handkerchief to itself.

“Relax, fairy, your clothes are drying under the lamp.”  Laughing, Rin reached over and retrieved the tiny jacket and tunic and trousers, along with the boots, and laid the items next to the fairy.  With one last glare at Rin, the fairy snatched back its clothes and began dressing under the handkerchief.

“Sheez, you’re welcome.”  Still, Rin could not help watching the fairy in fascination and a little dread.  He had so many questions, and the internet was not giving any reasonable or comforting answers.

As soon as the fairy had dressed, it emerged from the handkerchief, struggling to arrange its hair into some order, but giving up eventually and glancing imperiously up at Rin from where it stood.

“Feeling better, your highness?” Rin asked in amusement, wondering if it even understood him.

The fairy answered in the same bell-like sound, but realizing that Rin could not comprehend its speech, it somehow managed to convert its voice into a range that he could hear, speaking flawless Japanese.  “I thank you for saving my life, human.”

There must be something in the cafeteria food, Rin thought half-hysterically, but soldiered on as if he were having a completely normal conversation with a regular human being.  “No problem.  My name’s Rin.  What do I call you… your Highness?”

The fairy fidgeted with the hem of its tunic, obviously debating giving up its name, but finally replied, “My name is Rei.”

“Rei…  So, are you a fairy prince, right?” Rin asked.  “Where is your kingdom?  Are there more of you? You’re not some figment of my imagination, are you?”

The fairy prince made another tinkling sound, but judging from the joyful expression, he seemed to be laughing.  “I am real, otherwise, how did you get my clothes off to dry?”

“Oh, uh,” Rin cleared his throat, blushing. “Well, I had to, you know.”

“Of course.  I cannot be mad at you for that.”

In spite of his misgivings that this was all a very elaborate hallucination, Rin couldn’t help but smile as Rei walked over to the desk lamp and sat down underneath it, unfurling his brilliantly hued wings to dry further.

“As for the rest of your questions…” Rei continued primly, “There are more like me, but for the most part, we stay out of the human world.  Humans cannot see us in our fairy form, not unless we want them to.  At most, they might glimpse a small creature at the edge of their sight, and think nothing of it.”

“So how am I seeing you?”  Because Rin definitely noticed, and at least according to his sister, he was usually oblivious about details of the world around him.

“I believe I must have been caught up in a gust of wind from a vehicle and was knocked unconscious against a wall.  But my spells should hold even if I am unconscious…”  The fairy prince flushed a little and averted his gaze.  “I suppose I needed someone to save my life, and so I appeared in your vision.”

“I see… You’re okay, though, right?  No broken bones or anything?” Not that Rin had any idea what to do if a fairy needed to set a broken arm or stich up a wing.

“I am whole, thanks to your assistance,” Rei assured him.  “But if you please, I would like some refreshment.”

“Oh, sorry!”  It was obvious Rin didn’t have a roommate, and hadn’t entertained guests in a while.  “Do you want water?”

“Do you have anything sweet to drink?”

“I have a sports drink.  It’s fruit punch flavored.”

But when he gave a capful of the drink to the fairy, Rei made a disgusted expression after one sip of the liquid.  “That tastes terrible!  I don’t believe any fruit at all was involved in its production!”

“Well, it’s all I have!  I figure you don’t want beer.”

“Don’t you have anything from a real flower?” Rei demanded.  “Or any actual fruit?”

Rin stared at the fairy, who just stared back, completely unafraid of a human several times its size.  “Fine, wait here, I’ll get something from the vending machine,” Rin grumbled, unable to believe that he was going to venture back into the rain for this creature when he had been expecting to stay in bed for the rest of the day.  Week, if he could help it.

Grabbing his wallet and a jacket, Rin ran out, thankful for the covered walkway to the laundromat and vending machines.  Too bad for the fairy, the machine did not stock flower dew drops or unicorn sparkles, and he figured the tea and coffee drinks would probably make the fairy’s heart burst from caffeine overload, so he settled on lychee flavored water, and a vitamin-c fortified lemon soda for himself.

He offered a fresh capful of lychee water and a piece of shortbread cookie from a tin his sister left behind to the fairy, who seemed to enjoy both and thanked him graciously.  While bed continued to look so warm and dry and inviting, Rin instead sat up to watch Rei, absolutely entranced by his existence.  Long after he thought things like magic and romance could no longer exist in this dull and depressing world, he somehow found a beautiful fairy prince, saved its life and was currently watching it eat a piece of cookie almost as big as its head and getting sugary crumbs all over itself.  Before he could stop himself, he reached out to brush a crumb away with a finger, and the fairy paused and made a warning chiming noise. 

Maybe he didn’t want to be touched, Rin thought ruefully, withdrawing his hand for now. 

After Rei had eaten his fill, he dabbed at his mouth with his own tiny lacy handkerchief and said, “It may take another half day before my wings fully dry and I can fly home, and even then the weather may still be rainy.  If you could give me a small book to read, I will stay out of your way and you may go on with life.”

Rin would have been fine watching the fairy all day, but at such a polite request, he looked through his shelves and picked out a lightweight manual on swimming from his high school days on the swim team.  The fairy’s eyes lit up with excitement when he saw the subject of the book, and he eagerly scanned the introductory pages, lifting every page with both arms to turn it over, occasionally commenting aloud to himself in rapt curiosity.

“I’m guessing butterflies can’t swim,” Rin said with a snicker, though not meanly.

“No, unfortunately,” Rei responded without looking up from the manual.  “But humans cannot fly.”

“That’s true.  Hey… _can_ you fly?”

“Of course I can!”  Rei looked up from his reading at that, clearly offended at the insinuation he could not fly.

“It just doesn’t look physically possible…”

“What do you know of aerodynamics?  Are you an expert in aviation mechanics, hm?” Rei retorted.

“Okay, then, let’s see you fly over to me,” Rin said in a challenging tone.  He held out a hand and watched as Rei flitted up into the air and land gracefully on his palm.  So light, and yet Rin could feel a definite weight of a body, the soles of very real boots, pressing delicate against his hand.

“That was… actually pretty cool,” Rin admitted, as Rei made another tinkling sound, the one that sounded like his laughter.

“Once my wings fully dry, I will show you all of my flying skills!” Rei exclaimed, wings fluttering in his enthusiasm.  “I was the top in my class in both speed and technique!”

“So there are more like you?  Butterflies and moths? Dragonflies?”  There were classes of fairies?  They had school?

“Among others,” Rei confirmed, and adjusting his glasses, he went on, “Actually, the reason I was caught in the rain was because I gave my umbrella to a soldier on patrol this morning.  Then as we parted ways, a human found him and captured him with a net.  I decided to follow after the human to see where he went before getting help, and that must be when I got hit by the vehicle.”

“Can you describe the human who captured your friend?” Rin interjected.  “If he lives around here, he must be a student, too, so I may know him.”

“Yes, certainly.  He was smaller than you, and very loud, and he smelled of peach blossoms.”

That was an unusual description, but probably the best a small butterfly man could come up with.  Fortunately, Rin had a pretty good idea who it could be. “Yeah, that’s got to be Momotarou.  He lives in the next building across from me.  Tomorrow, after your wings dry, we’ll talk to him and see how your friend is doing.”

“Is he going to be all right?” Rei asked anxiously, one hand encircling his right wrist in a fretting motion.

“Absolutely, don’t worry.  Momo love animals, he takes very good care of all of his critters.  Your friend is probably safer with him than anywhere else in this apartment complex.”

“If you say so, then I will wait.”

For the rest of the afternoon, Rin puttered about the apartment, attempting to clean up and prepare for his unexpected guest as best as he can.  Rei meanwhile had finished the manual and was now investigating the contents of Rin’s desk and bookshelves, flying short distances here and there, apparently as much as his damp wings would allow.  Of course, Rin had to watch him, had to ask questions and answer Rei’s questions, too, so he ended up making very little progress.  It was only when his stomach began to growl that Rin realized he hadn’t eaten since breakfast.  Reheating yesterday’s curry rice seemed like the best option, though he had no idea what else to get for Rei to eat.  Happily, Rei said he did not need any more food for now, and tasted the curry more out of curiosity.

“Do you like it?”  Rin was answered with a bout of squeaky coughing.  “Guess not.”  He handed over another capful of lychee water to Rei, grinning in amusement at the fairy’s suffering.

 

As predicted, Rei also did not want a shower this soon after being caught in the rain, but Rin needed to get one for himself in before bedtime.  He had just been in the water for two minutes when he heard, somehow, the bell-like chiming of Rei outside the bathroom door.

“What is it?” Rin shouted, turning off the water and wrapping a towel around his waist before opening the door.

“I said I did not want a shower, but I still need a bath!” Rei said as soon as he flew in.

“Are you fucking serious?”

“I was lying on the ground for hours, of course I need to bathe!  Do you want me to get your nice clean things dirty?”

“Ugh, fine, I’ll make you a bath.”  What a spoiled brat, Rin thought, but it wasn’t as if Rei could help it, either.  As quickly as a he could while half naked and dripping wet, Rin filled a bowl with warm water and chipped off a tiny piece of soap from a new bar, as well as setting a hand towel aside for Rei to dry himself off.  Then it was back into the shower to finish rinsing out his hair and scrub off the residue of a week’s worth of cramming for exams.

 

Finally clean and relaxed and somewhat dried, Rin checked on Rei’s progress, hoping that he didn’t drown in the makeshift bath.  Rei had already gotten out of the bowl himself, draping the towel about his shoulders, looking very contented despite the steam fogging up his glasses and drooping his wings.  All of his previous annoyance dissipated immediately, and Rin had to fight back a laugh at the cute sight.

“All right, little buddy, let’s get you to sleep.”  Rin scooped up Rei in one hand and his bundle of clothes in the other and brought him back to his desk, without a peep of discontent from the fairy the whole way.

“Got you a shoebox and some more t-shirts, so make yourself comfortable,” Rin told him.  “And no more requests until morning. I’m tired.”

Of course, as soon as his head hit the pillow, Rei’s voice piped up from the shoebox. 

“I have one more request,” Rei whispered, just loud enough to be heard.

Rin tried to ignore him, turned over and pretended he had fallen asleep.  But the rustling from the shoebox sounded deafening in the silence, and exhaling deeply, Rin gave in and muttered, “What is it?”

“May I sleep with you?”

“What?!”  That woke him up with a jolt.

“You have turned off the lamp, now it is too cold,” Rei said by way of explanation.  “Let me sleep on your pillow, please.”

“B-but I might roll over and crush you!”

The laughing tinkle sounded again.  “How ridiculous! No, I want to sleep on the top of the pillow.  That’s where you generate the most heat, from the top of your head.”

“Oh.”  Rin was glad for the darkness hiding his blush.  “I guess that’s fine.  But if I crush you somehow, don’t blame anyone but yourself, got it?”

“Very well, then I’ll be sure to pull out as much of your hair as I can before I go.”

Both of them shared a laugh of relief, of mutual understanding through friendly jibes.  Rin watched as Rei, somewhat clumsily in the darkness, hauled a handkerchief to his pillow near the vicinity of the top of his head.  He was not able to see him after that, could only feel Rei making a nest on the pillow with the handkerchief.  Before long, Rin’s eyes drooped closed, and he felt suddenly overwhelmed by exhaustion and the desire to sleep.  Just as he drifted off, he heard Rei murmur softly into his hair, “Thank you, Rin-san.”


	2. Chapter 2

Rin woke up to the feeling of prickling of his scalp, like his hair was being yanked, and a loud jangling noise.  His eyes shot open in panic as the realization struck him that he might have crushed Rei in his sleep and was now feeling the fairy’s death throes.  As it turned out, Rei was just trying to get him to turn off his phone alarm.

“I almost had a heart attack, it was so loud!” he exclaimed, fluttering around Rin’s head in just his tunic and some glorious bedhead.

“Sorry, I usually run in the mornings,” Rin grumbled, turning off his phone.  “Guess I’ll skip today, though.”  The rainy weather looked as if it will not relent, and thus Rin did not feel the slightest bit guilty about staying in for a decent breakfast for once.  It was vacation week after all, he deserved it.  Plus more time to entertain Rei, who could not leave to go home if this drizzle continued.

“Should we go visit your friend now?” Rin suggested after breakfast, while Rei fixed his hair and adjusted his clothes in his reflection on the cellphone screen.  “Momo’s probably still in town, but we should go now before his brother comes to pick him up.”

“Yes, of course!” Rei settled into the hood of Rin’s jacket, and Rin dashed across the green to the next building, managing to stay mostly dry without an umbrella.  Fortunately, Momo answered the door right away, and was thrilled to see an upperclassman express anything other than disinterest or mild concern in his hobbies.

“I just caught him yesterday, too, I’ve only shown him to Nitori-senpai so far!”

“Uhh… well, Nitori might have mentioned something in passing that you got a new bug…” He didn’t, but Momo wasn’t about to fact check his former team captain.

“Anyway, please come inside, Rin-senpai!  I’ll get Pyunsuke, be right back.”

Pyunsuke was not a butterfly or moth as Rin had expected, but a very large stag beetle Momo had put in a jar.  He came complete with a leaf umbrella that must have been Rei’s, and Rin was unable to suppress a grin at the sight of a beetle carrying a leaf to shelter himself from the rain.  Then to his horror, the beetle stirred from its sleep and what he thought were its pincers was actually the top of a kabuto helmet, and its carapace really a set of samurai armor.

A fairy samurai.  Now he’d really seen it all.

“Isn’t he cool?!  I’ve never seen a stag beetle so big and shiny before!  And he had this leaf with him the whole time!” Momotarou was saying.

At the same time, Rei exclaimed from around Rin’s neck, “Sousuke-san, I am glad he’s all right!”

“Wow, Pyunsuke is very active for this time of day, he usually sleeps when I’m awake…”

Pyunsuke/Sousuke was hammering away at the glass of his jar with one small gloved fist, looking worriedly at Rei, who then flew out from Rin’s hood and made assuring bell-like sounds.

“Rin-senpai, you caught a butterfly?!” Momotarou cried out.  “She’s amazing, I’m so jealous!”

“It’s a he,” Rin replied gruffly, trying to keep track of two conversations at the same time.

“Sousuke-san, I’m perfectly well, Rin-san has been very kind to me.”

“Say, do you need a cage, Rin-senpai?  I have an extra!”

“Uhh, no, it’s fine.”

Pyunsuke/Sousuke said something in a lower bell-like tone Rin could not understand, and Rei laughed again. 

“Hey, I think they’re getting along!  I’ve never seen anything like this before.  You know what, Rin-senpai, it must be a sign that we should hang out more!”

“Yeah… about that…”  Now Rin was unsure what to do next.  If Rei was planning to return to his kingdom, he would want his soldier to come along with him, which would mean he’d have to bust Sousuke out.  He’d hate to do that to Momo, who had swum with him during high school and was a good kid, if sometimes energetic and a little annoying.  Well, he’ll just have to apologize, and Momo will find another non-fairy stag beetle soon enough…

“We can talk about beetles and butterflies and moths and dragonflies and grasshoppers…”

“I’ve spoken to Sousuke-san, he says he is doing well, and as soon as the weather improves, he will be ready to go home.  You see, his shoulder has been injured, so I should accompany him just in case.”

“Rin-senpai!” came a new voice from the other bedroom.  It was Momo’s roommate, another underclassman from Rin’s high school, Nitori.

“Hey, Nitori, how’s it going?” Rin muttered, doing his best to not lose track of Rei and Momo’s conversation.  “Don’t tell me, you found a critter to take care of for your own, too?”

“Oh, no, Momotarou-kun is the one who keeps the animals,” Nitori replied in a somewhat long-suffering tone of voice.

“One time, we found this fan-tail pigeon at the cafeteria, he followed Nitori-senpai around…”

Coming from the jar, a somewhat muffled low voice said, “If you hurt the prince in any way, I will yank out all of your hair one by one, pretty boy.”

“Oh, he won’t do that, Sousuke-san is actually very kind.  And I think he may like you…”

“Hmph!”

“He’s blushing.”

“Okay, quiet, everyone!” Rin interrupted.

“Uh… we weren’t saying anything, Rin-senpai.”

Oh shit.  He forgot that Momo and Nitori couldn’t see or hear Rei and Sousuke as fairies.  He must seem especially crazed now.  “Uhh… I just remembered I had some errands to run, but I’ll come back later and hang out with you two.”

“…Are you okay, Rin-senpai?”

“I’m fine!” How rude.  “It’s not weird to want to hang out with your former teammates, huh?”

“No, it’s just… you haven’t wanted to hang out since we moved into your apartment complex.”

That was true, he hadn’t been very social this past year.  “Well, better now than never, right?” Rin replied with a forced smile.  “Let’s get dinner sometime, before school catches up with us again.”

“Yaaaaaay!  Dinner’s on senpai!”

“Oi, I never said that!”

 

 

Finally, after a very extended goodbye and numerous promises to not forget about dinner, Rin managed to extricate him from the black hole of time and effort that was interacting with Nitori and Momo and back to his own apartment.

 “That was very fun!” Rei commented.  “You have such good friends.”

“They’re not really friends,” Rin said absentmindedly.  “I chose them to swim with me on our swim team. But I guess they’re okay… in small doses.”

“Well, I think it’s nice to have lots of friends.  Sousuke-san is my only friend.”  Rei sounded  pensive, and Rin felt a little sorry for him.  Being royalty must be tough, even fairy royalty.  But in the next moment, Rei flew to his bookshelf, landing amidst his old trophies and medals and pulling out a photo from a stack of neglected books.

“What about these three?” Rei asked of the group picture of Rin as a child celebrating at a swim meet with three other boys.  “Are they your friends?  Or just teammates?”

“Kinda both?  They used to be anyway.  We don’t really talk anymore.”

“You look like you were very close to them back then,” Rei observed.  “What happened?”

“It’s none of your business,” Rin grumbled, rolling his eyes.

“I suppose not.  But… you appear lonely and bored all by yourself.  It doesn’t seem right, not when you have people who seem to care about you.”

“What would you know about my life?!” Rin snapped. “You met me a day ago!  Stop acting like you know anything!”

“I just want to help!”

“Well, I don’t need help, okay?  I’m fine on my own.”

Rei said nothing, only set the photo down and flew to the top of the bookcase.  He did not look like he was going to come back down.

“Hey… Rei, don’t be like that,” Rin called out.  “Rei.  Come down from there.  …There might be spiders.”

After a few minutes, Rei’s voice floated through the air.  “On the back of the picture, I saw their names are Haru and Makoto and Nagisa, is that correct?”

“…Yeah?”

“You still have their names on your phone, I saw.  There are messages you saved for them but never sent.”

Nothing was going to get past Rei, Rin could tell.  Tears sprang into Rin’s eyes as a wave of guilt curled up in his chest.  “Yeah…”

 

* * *

 

Sometime later, Rin got on a step stool and surprised Rei so much, he was able to grab him by the foot and bring him down from the bookshelf. 

“Where are you taking me?!” Rei demanded, struggling in Rin’s grasp.

“It’s way past time for lunch, you silly peacock,” Rin replied.

Rin set him down on the kitchen counter, and Rei’s eyes widened when he saw what Rin had gotten.

“I collected every single flower still blooming on campus grounds.  You better eat from them before they wilt.”

“Rin-san, this is… so beautiful!  Thank you!”

“I also got you some of the royal jelly Momo uses to feed his bugs, I thought you might like something better than cookies.  Go ahead and eat your fill of it.  We’ve got a busy day tomorrow.”

“What are we doing tomorrow?” Rei asked from where he had landed next to a wet rose blossom.

“Going to Iwatobi,” Rin said, trying to sound off-handed.  “I texted them finally, they’re all on vacation, too and had already went home.  My mom and sister said they’ll get my old room ready for me, so… might as well go sight-seeing and visit the ocean before you have to go back, huh?”

Rei looked as if he were about to cry, but from happiness, and Rin felt his nostrils start to sting again.

“Thank you, Rin-san!” Rei wailed, sobbing into a rose petal.

“You are so silly,” Rin said, laughing now, because at least that would keep him from crying.  “I should be thanking you, Rei.  Because… It’s not raining in Iwatobi…”

 

* * *

 

Rin was kept busy the rest of the day, packing for his trip home, and then when Rei insisted he needed a new outfit, even though there was no way anyone else could see him rewear his old clothes, Rin had to take him shopping as well.  The cashier at the toy store gave him a strange look, a male university student buying doll clothes and accessories, so he just slammed his money down on the counter and dashed away.

“I can’t believe you found butterfly pajamas,” he muttered into his hoodie where Rei had tucked himself away.  “At least we found you some flotation devices.”

Tomorrow was going to be strange, Rin thought wryly.  But… thanks to Rei’s nosiness, it might be fun as well.  For the first time in a long time, he couldn’t wait to go back home.

 

* * *

 

“Rin-chan!  Over here!” Nagisa yelled out from where the three had staked out a perfect barbecue spot by the ocean. 

“Hey guys,” Rin greeted them with a shy wave.  “Long time, no see.  How are you all doing?”

“Much better now that you’re here, Rin,” Makoto said with a warm smile. 

Haru did not greet him nor look him in the eye, and Rin feared that the bad feelings of their last encounter might still be lingering.  But after they got the fire going and the meat cooking, Haru gave Rin two skewers full of freshly grilled meat before he served anyone else.

“We got your favorite cut at the grocery store, Rin,” Haru told him.  “You owe us 700 yen.”

That was probably the best reconciliation Rin could hope for, and the tension he felt on the train ride home disappeared as he bit into the meat hungrily and gave Haru a sharp grin in thanks. 

As for Rei, he was beside himself with joy at meeting Rin’s old friends, exclaiming “Beautiful!  So beautiful!” as he fluttered around their faces. 

“What a sweet young man, absolutely darling!” Rei said of Nagisa, clearly in love with either his sunny charm or the fact that he still smelled of the frosted cupcakes he ate on the way to the beach. Probably both.

“Such strength and yet such gentle kindness, of course he would be your friend!”  This was addressed to Makoto, and Rin had to nod in agreement, catching himself when Haru gave him an odd look.

“And this one… I have never seen eyes so clear and flawless and honest!” Rei said of Haru and the crystal reflection he could see in Haru’s eyes.  “You are so lucky, Rin!”

They seemed amused that Rin got a butterfly, but “it kinda makes sense,” according to Haru.

“What’s that supposed to mean, huh?!”

“I mean that no girl could stand your constant preening and posing, so of course only an insect brain would tolerate you.”

“Excuse me, Rei is not just an insect!”

“Oh my God,” Nagisa murmured.  “He thinks it’s a person…”

His face turning bright red, Rin shouted, “I will race all three of you right here, right now!”

“Fine.”  Haru was already taking off his t-shirt, soon to be joined by Rin, and before they could be stopped, the two of them had already raced towards the ocean, as if the awkwardness of the past three years never happened.

The rest of the day and evening passed by like a dream, and Rin had to pinch himself occasionally just to make sure this was happening.  After Nagisa and Makoto left Haru’s house where they had all gathered to eat dinner, Rin finally said his own goodbye to Haru, who gave him the barest hint of a smile in return.

“Let’s race again sometime, Rin.”

 

* * *

 

 

His mother and sister were delighted to welcome Rin back home, and kept commenting on how handsome and happy he looked, to his embarrassment.

“Are you sure you don’t have a girlfriend yet, honey?” his mother asked teasingly, while Gou laughed so hard she almost snorted.

“Mom, please.”

“I just want my boy to be happy like this all of the time!”

“Good night, mom, good night, Gou!”

Rin ran to his room before they could interrogate him further, but now Rei was asking him questions.

“So you don’t have a lady you are interested in?”

“Uhh, what does it look like?”

“What about a young gentleman?” Rei persisted.

Rin laughed as calmly as he could, but he knew it sounded like nervous screeching instead.  “Don’t be ridiculous, Rei.  Wow.  Just… wow.”

“Because for a moment there, it looked like Haruka-san was the one for you.”

“Oh… no.  I mean, at one point in time, when I was twelve and stupid, maybe I thought I had a chance, but nah. Not Haru.  That cold fish?  No way.  Plus, he has Makoto and Nagisa and five million other admirers already.  So… nope.  I’ve moved on anyway.  We’re just friends now.”  Rin was babbling a little, but it needed to be said.  So that it could be true.

“Hmm…”

“What about you?  Is there going to be a princess of the fairy kingdom anytime soon?”

“My older brother already married a lovely young dragonfly countess from the neighboring country.”

“Ah, so you get to live the bachelor life now.”

“You could say that,” Rei said with a tiny blush.

“Who on earth are you talking to?” Gou asked from out of nowhere.  “Are you seriously talking to your butterfly, nii-chan?”

“Oh my God, isn’t it your bedtime, Gou?!”


	3. Chapter 3

In the end, despite all of the embarrassment, Rin had to thank Rei for helping him get back in touch with his family and friends.  He really did miss them, and the fact that they let him back into their lives gladly said a lot about their character, their love for him despite his anger and frustration that caused the divide in the first place.  He made his amends, though they were not needed, and all through the trip back home, Rin could not help smiling while scrolling through the dozens of photos he took on his phone.

There wasn’t any food left in the fridge, so Rin knocked on Momo and Nitori’s door once he got back, and they all went to get udon together, catching up and chatting about nothing in particular as they ate.  If he ever thought they were annoying, he was sorry for that now, as they had matured quite a bit after being on a team with him, and so he told them that he wanted to apologize for giving them the cold shoulder.  They reacted predictably, Nitori almost crying in happiness and Momo tackling him into a hug in the middle of the restaurant.  But… it was worth it, in Rin’s view.

Seeing as he was going to break into their apartment and release one of Momo’s prized bugs the next day…

 

* * *

 

 

“Do you really have to go?” Rin wondered to himself as he watched Rei sleep on his pillow in the light of the moonbeams coming through his window.

“Hmmm?” Rei asked sleepily, opening his eyes to the light brush of Rin’s fingertip against his face.

Not realizing he had woken Rei, Rin went very still, even though it was obvious he had been watching Rei for some time now.  “Uhh… nothing, just go back to sleep, Rei.”

After some moments, Rei whispered, “I don’t want to go, but I must.  They will be searching for me and Sousuke-san soon.”

“I… is there any way you can stay with me?”

“I’m sorry, Rin-san, but there isn’t.”

“Why not?”

“…How long do you think butterflies live?”

Rin could not sleep the rest of the night, unable to stop his tears.  If there was any way fairies could grant a wish, he would ask that they transform Rei into a human so the two of them could stay together.  But that would be unfair to Rei’s parents and brother, to Sousuke.  And… it was impossible anyway.  The magic that Rei already introduced into Rin’s life, that was more than he ever deserved.   He should be thankful for what he got.

Still, he could wish, couldn’t he?

 

* * *

 

 

“Rin-san,” Rei announced, clearing his throat as he stood on Rin’s desk.

“What’s up, Rei?”

“I have something for you.  As thanks for hosting me these past few days and feeding me and taking me to the beach.”

“Oh my God, you don’t have to do this.”

“It is our custom to always give gifts to those who deserve it, and you deserve it.”  Blushing bright red, Rei produced a package wrapped in tissue paper from behind his back.  “I made this for you.”

Curious, Rin unwrapped the small package carefully and gasped.  It was clearly the gold circle that made up Rei’s crown, with colored strands braided across its outer surface.

“Are you serious?  This is your crown, I can’t have this.”

“It’s not a problem, I have others,” Rei insisted, then explained, “I added strands of hair from your friends to the metal along with a strand of your hair, they have been enchanted to never fade or fail.  Friendship… changes you forever, whether or not your friends remain in your life that long, and I want you to remember...”  Now Rei began crying, or at least from what Rin could tell through the tears filling up his own eyes.  “I want you to remember me, too.”

Unable to trust his voice, Rin slid the crown onto his ring finger, which fit perfectly.  Then through his ugly sobbing, Rin managed to say, “Thank you Rei.  I won’t forget, I promise.”

 

* * *

 

 

It was horrible in many ways, breaking into Momo and Nitori’s apartment, getting caught by them just as he opened the window to let Sousuke out of his jar and into the wilderness outside the apartment.  Momo was screaming his betrayal while Rin tried to say goodbye to Rei and Sousuke, who still had his leaf umbrella tied to his belt, as they flew out to freedom.

“I’ll never forget, Rei!” Rin cried out desperately.

Then he blinked in confusion, wondered vaguely how a butterfly and a stag beetle were flying in the air at the same time.  Stag beetles were nocturnal, weren’t they?  And why was he holding an empty jar?

“Uhh… what am I doing in your apartment, Momo, Nitori?”

“I… have no idea.”


	4. Chapter 4

Epilogue

Some years later, Rin found himself waiting out a passing shower in the shelter under a cherry tree.  He clicked his tongue in annoyance at having to brush the fallen petals off his clothes and wondered when the rain will stop so he can go home.  To his surprise, as soon as he thought that, the rain did stop, for someone was holding an umbrella over his head.

“Here, you can take mine, sir,” said a familiar voice, some octaves lower than the last time he heard it.

“Thank you…” Rin said, to the beautiful face that had been locked away inside his mind for the past several years.  The man said nothing more, just turned quickly and ran under the cover of someone else’s umbrella.  Who looked just as familiar to Rin, as he glanced at Rin briefly and then pulled the first man close to his side.

“Thank you, Mr. Prince, Mr. Samurai!” Rin called out, and the two of them looked over their shoulders and smiled at him before walking away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know, this is a very short epilogue, which I thought I might expand someday, but it's late and I need to move on, so another time! Thanks for reading and indulging me in this very indulgent fic.

**Author's Note:**

> written for 2 days of my 30 days of rinrei project - butterfly and AU, also had to stick in a reference to my samurai AU as well. thanks for reading through this AU that was clearly written in 2 days and gotten completely out of hand, as with all of my AUs, lmao.


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